Indicator
by Tollivandi Silverwing
Summary: An antimutant group has found a little girl whose power indicates if there is a mutant near her. They are keeping her prisoner so that they can exploit her unique ability. Can the Xmen save her?
1. Indi

"It's our duty to protect mankind from mutants! Am I right?" Indi heard the man's voice and the cheer that followed, and she shivered in her cage.

"But some of those mutants have the audacity to walk among us, pretending that they're human, pretending that they deserve to live!" Boos followed this sneering comment. "Can we continue to let this happen?" asked the speaker.

"No!" answered the crowd.

"What about the mutants who look like human beings? How can we flush them out? Ladies and gentlemen, I have discovered a way to identify the humanoid mutants living among us!" Amidst more cheering, Indi's cage was brought on stage. The man pointed at her and kept talking.

"Three years ago," he said. "I discovered this child in an orphanage. She seemed human at first. But there was one preteen boy, sitting away from the other children, and whenever my little friend here went near him, her skin turned blue!"

The people in the crowd muttered amongst themselves, and Indi hid her face. She remembered that older boy, even though she had been only three years old when she was taken from the orphanage. He could take an old and broken toy and make it good as new in the blink of an eye. Then he would smile and play with her for a little while. So she kept bringing old toys for him to fix, not caring that his talent was strange, or that she turned blue near him.

"I took the two children. The boy admitted to being a mutant, and needless to say, he was destroyed." The people in the audience actually _laughed_. Indi couldn't help it. She started crying. The man who was talking paid no attention. "But the girl, I kept and tested. She is a mutant," He was interrupted as the crowd booed once more. He raised his hands for silence. "She is a mutant, but her ability is very useful to our cause. She is an indicator of mutant DNA. She will turn blue in the presence of another of her kind."

Indi hugged herself and squeezed her eyes shut, shaking with each sob. At six, she was old enough to know that her power was the only thing that kept her alive. They needed her to find mutants, but once the mutants were found, they were killed. The mutants Indi saw stared at her, their eyes reflecting her own fear, begging for mercy. But she couldn't stop herself from changing colors and betraying them.

The man onstage asked the audience if they'd like a demonstration. Of course they yelled the affirmative. Five people were brought onstage, bound, gagged, and blindfolded. The crowd couldn't find the mutant among them. One by one, the people were made to stand next to Indi's cage. Indi refused to look at them, but she knew from the crowd's gasp that the fourth person was a mutant. She knew that her skin was bright sapphire blue. She knew that the mutant was going to die.

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Later that night, after Indi had been dumped unceremoniously into her sleeping pen, her owner came to visit her. He was the man speaking at the demonstration, a leader of the anti-mutant movement. She turned her back to him, staring at the blank wall and pretending not to listen.

"You did well, my little Indicator," he said.

Indi stuck her fingers into her ears. _Not listening,_ she thought to herself.

"You're upset about the mutant today, aren't you? Don't be. It was better off dead, anyway. It was a danger to us all."

_I'm not listening…_Indi's chin quivered, but she had no tears left.

"Do you know what someone said to me after the demonstration? He said I ought to kill you as well, because after all, the only good mutant is a dead one." He chuckled, as if he agreed. "But fear not, little one. You're much too useful to kill."

"Go away," Indi moaned, before remembering that she wasn't listening.

The man was silent for a while, and she knew he was smirking. Finally, he left.

Once he was gone, Indi knelt on the floor of her pen, bowed her head, and prayed. She remembered that in the orphanage, the kids did it every night before bed. She couldn't remember exactly why they were praying, but it felt right. She liked to think that somewhere, there was someone who could hear her, someone who cared enough to listen to a six-year-old mutant. She said she was sorry for the bad things she did, and asked for someone to help her and all the other mutants.

"Ay-min," Indi finished. She didn't know what _ay-min _meant, but the orphans had always said it after their prayers. Her own silent prayers done, Indi fell asleep.


	2. The Smell of Sulfur

A foot came through the bars of Indi's pen and kicked her sharply in the side. Indi flinched and curled herself into a ball.

"Get up," snapped a female voice.

Startled, Indi opened her eyes to see a woman standing outside her pen. The woman's steely eyes told Indi how much she detested mutants, so Indi scrambled as far away as her pen would allow.

"No, you little freak, you're coming with me." The woman took out a key and opened the pen. "We've decided to try something new." She grabbed Indi's arm and jerked her upright. Indi tried to resist but it was no good. She let herself be led out of the room and down the hallway by the woman.

They entered another room, where Indi's owner was waiting. The two adults roughly took Indi's old clothes off and replaced them with brand-new ones. Now, instead of a torn, dirty, and too-small dress, Indi wore a pale pink shirt and a denim jumper. She stared at her new clothes in shock, unable to understand what was going on.

Next, she was given shoes and once the many tangles in her brown hair were yanked out, they pulled her hair into two pigtails.

Indi looked at the adults with wide blue eyes. "Why?" she asked.

Her owner smiled. She didn't like his smile. "You're going out for a little while, Indicator."

_Out?_ Indi thought._ Outside?_ She had faint memories of playing outside. Before she could think more about it, her owner picked her up and carried her to yet another room, this one filled with cars. Indi was even more confused when she was put into the back seat of a minivan and buckled in.

While the steely-eyed woman got into the driver's seat, Indi's owner said, "Miss O'Hara is going to be in charge of you, Indicator, so don't even think about running off. Besides, where would you run to? No human would want you because of what you are, and the mutants won't take you, since it's because of you that we've been able to exterminate so many of them. So be a good girl and stay close to Miss O'Hara." With that, he slammed the van door. One of the walls of the room slid up, and Miss O'Hara drove outside.

Indi hadn't seen the outdoors since her capture. Whenever she was transported, there was usually a blanket covering her cage. She stared out the window, drinking in every sight, and trying to ignore Miss O'Hara's glares.

Much too soon, they arrived at a busy park at the edge of the woods. When Miss O'Hara opened the door to let Indi out, she hissed at her, "Remember, don't try to escape. I've got a gun that I've been itching to use on a mutant, and you'd be perfect for target practice."

Indi tried to edge away from her, but Miss O'Hara grabbed her, pulled her out of the van and started walking. When they came to a playground, Miss O'Hara let go of Indi's arm. "Go play with the other children, Indicator. It's better if you get them while they're young."

Indi ran towards the playground and made it about five steps before she froze, finally realizing what was happening. They wanted her to detect other mutant children! Horrified, she glanced over her shoulder at Miss O'Hara, who just smiled and waved sweetly at her.

Indi looked around, seeking a place where she could stay away from the other children. She decided on the jungle gym and climbed through it. Once in the center, she felt safe. It was like being in her pen, only better, because anyone who tried to get at her would have to climb over and under all the bars to get to the center. She sat on the pea-stones, watching the other children play, and keeping one eye on her hands. Her hands were always the first thing to turn blue, and then she had about five seconds before the change was complete. She hoped it would be enough time to get away from any mutant child she detected.

Suddenly, a ball fell through the bars, landing right in front of her. Indi stared at it, startled, until a boy came up to the jungle gym and peered in at her.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm hiding," said Indi.

"Well, it's not a good hiding spot. Can I have that ball?"

Indi glanced at her hands. If the boy was a mutant, she would have changed by now. She got up and handed him the ball.

The boy started to walk away, then paused and looked back at her. "Wanna play catch with us?"

"Um…" Indi thought for a second. She wondered if she could run away fast enough if she started to change colors. On the other hand, she might never get another chance to play with other kids. Finally she nodded and followed the boy across the playground.

He led her to where four other children were waiting. As they got closer, Indi looked at her hands. No color. These kids were all human. _Lucky them_, she thought.

"Hey, you gonna play or what?" asked one of them. He threw the ball and the game started.

For Indi, the simple game of catch was harder than it should have been. After all, she had spent half her life in a cage, so of course she wasn't used to playing. On top of that, she kept worrying that she would turn blue at any moment. But as she played, she got better at throwing and catching, and all but forgot about Miss O'Hara.

After a few minutes of playing, as Indi reached out to catch the ball, she saw her fingers, then her hand turn blue. Without stopping to think, Indi dove into the nearby bushes. Luckily, none of the other kids had seen the coloring. They were too busy complaining about a sudden horrible scent. Indi wrinkled her nose as well; the smell was very strong, but she couldn't identify it.

She looked down at her hands and was surprised to see the blue color fading. Whatever mutant had been nearby must have left in a hurry.

Suddenly, an arm reached into the bushes and yanked Indi out. Indi gulped as she looked up into the angry face of Miss O'Hara.

"Did you think you could get away that easily?" Miss O'Hara sneered. Indi opened her mouth to say she wasn't trying to escape, but realized it was no use. If she told Miss O'Hara that she had turned blue, she'd only be in bigger trouble. And she was sure she was in trouble now.

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"So, my little Indicator thought she could run away, did she?" Indi backed as close to the bars of her pen as she could, trying to stay away from her owner. Miss O'Hara had told him her version of what happened. Both adults were mystified about the scent that lingered on Indi's clothes, the scent they called sulfur. Not that the name of the smell mattered to Indi right now.

With one punch, Indi was knocked down. She yelped as she received a kick in the stomach. Her owner kept talking as he administered these blows, ignoring her tears and cries of pain.

"Where would you go, Indicator? Your place is right here, finding mutants for us, exterminating them for the good of mankind."

Indi reached out towards the guards standing just outside her pen, wordlessly begging them to help her, but they merely glanced at her, indifferent.

Her owner's foot came down hard on Indi's outstretched arm, and Indi screamed in pain. Pulling her broken limb to her chest, she curled into a tight ball. She whimpered as her owner continued his relentless beating. She didn't have the strength to cry anymore.

As blackness began closing in on her sight, Indi couldn't help but notice that her knees, showing beneath her jumper, had turned blue. The last thing she saw before blacking out completely was the wall outside her pen come crashing down.


	3. Safety

Indi woke once, briefly, not even opening her eyes. She smelled sulfur, and felt someone holding her before she drifted back into unconsciousness.

When she awoke again, she was laying in a bed. Her right arm was covered by a white plaster cast, and she felt tender and bruised all over. But despite the pain, Indi was warm and comfortable for the first time in three years.

Then she realized that she was blue, and her peaceful feeling disappeared. She struggled to sit up, but was pressed back down by gentle hands.

"It's alright," said a kind female voice. "You're not endangering anyone."

A woman came to stand beside Indi's bed. Indi looked at her hands, then back at the woman. "You're a mutant," said Indi, as if the woman didn't know that already.

"Yes. My name is Jean Grey."

"I'm Indi." She paused, remembering something her owner had said. "You're not mad at me, are you? For what I did?"

"Of course not," said Jean, knowing that Indi was talking about her power. "We both know that it wasn't your fault."

Indi stared up at the woman, not knowing what to say.

"You should rest now, Indi. And don't worry: you're safe here."

Indi felt a slight pressure on her mind, willing her to fall asleep.

"But…" Indi mumbled, not bothering to try to resist her fatigue. "But I didn't…even…pray…"

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It was nighttime when Indi woke for the third time, but the room she was in was lit by the soft glow of a reading lamp. Turning her head, she saw a teenage boy curled up in a chair by her bed. He had fallen asleep reading, apparently, for he held an open book in his lap. Indi stared curiously at him. She remembered him from somewhere, like from a dream.

Before she could figure it out, a man entered the room. At least, Indi thought he was a man, but he was the oddest man she had ever seen. His skin was dark blue, making him almost blend into the shadows, and his eyes glowed yellow in the light. He had strange hands, with only three fingers, and (was it true? Yes, Indi saw it again) he had a tail. Despite his peculiar appearance, Indi wasn't scared of him, because a familiar smell had entered the room with him: sulfur.

"Hello," said Indi softly, not wanting to wake the boy.

The man started slightly, then smiled. "I did not think you were awake," he said. His accent was unfamiliar to Indi. "You are supposed to be resting."

Indi wriggled into a more comfortable position in her bed. "I _am_ resting," she said. She looked at the boy, then back at the man. "Who is he? And who are you?"

"I am Kurt Wagner," To Indi, it sounded like _Vahgner_. "But I am also called Nightcrawler. This boy is Chris."

"Just Chris?" asked Indi. His name struck her as familiar, just like his face had.

Nightcrawler nodded. "Just Chris. He has no family, and no other name."

"Just like me," said Indi. She stared at the boy again, and suddenly remembered where she had last seen him. He was the boy from the orphanage, the boy who could fix things!

Nightcrawler saw the expression on her face. "You remember him?" he asked.

Indi nodded. "But he was the first…the first one I…they…he was killed!" She sat up straight, which hurt her bruised ribs, and she started to cry.

Immediately, Nightcrawler sat on the bed beside her and held her close. "Hush now," he said soothingly. He hadn't the foggiest idea what he was doing, but he did it anyway. "It's alright."

Indi didn't know how long she cried, but when she finally calmed down, Nightcrawler was still holding her. She couldn't remember the last time anyone hugged her, or showed any affection at all. The two of them sat silently for a while, Indi's small hand holding tightly onto one of Nightcrawler's thick fingers.

Just as Indi began to get tired again, Nightcrawler started to whisper something, more to himself than to Indi. Indi blinked sleepily. His words had a cadence that she recognized. Closing her eyes once more, Indi murmured the prayer along with him, and fell into a very peaceful sleep.

Nightcrawler gently released his finger from the child's grasp, and edged out from beside her. He tucked her back into bed, carefully, so as not to wake her. As he was pulling the blankets up to her chin, the teenage boy spoke.

"Who knew you'd make such a good father?" Chris whispered, standing and stretching his cramped limbs.

"What? No, I was only…" Nightcrawler stopped and glared at the fifteen-year-old. "How long have you been awake?"

Chris grinned. "Long enough." He looked down at Indi and his grin faded. "I can't believe she's really here. She was just a toddler when we got taken. I thought I'd never see her again."

"She will be safe here, Chris. I…we will make sure of it."

Chris nodded. "I know you will." He walked towards the door, than turned back to Nightcrawler. "You'd better get some sleep, Kurt. New fathers need all the energy they can get." With a smirk, Chris left.

Nightcrawler started to go after the boy, hesitated, and looked back down at the sleeping Indi. "Father?" he wondered aloud. He shook his head. Ridiculous. And yet…

Taking one more look at the little girl, Nightcrawler left the room.


	4. Memories

"Good morning, Indi!" said a boy's voice. "How are you feeling?"

Indi opened her eyes to see Chris standing over her bed with a backpack full of something. "I hurt," she said. "Where's Nightcrawler?"

"Oh, he's talking to the Professor. He'll be back soon."

"The Professor?"

"Yeah, he's the one who found you, when you were praying the other night," said Chris. "Then the X-men—those are the adults. They wouldn't let me come—they went and saved you. Nightcrawler was with them, and Wolverine, and Jean, and Cyclops, and…"

"You mean, someone really did hear me praying?" said Indi, with wide blue eyes.

Chris nodded. "Guess that orphanage did us some good after all, making us pray all the time. But you were so little. How did you remember that?"

Indi shrugged. "It made me feel better, so I remembered it. _He_ kept me in a cage a lot, and there was nobody else there, and the ladies at the orphanage said that someone good would hear me if I prayed." She didn't need to explain who _he_ was: her owner.

"And the Professor's the best of them all. He takes in mutant kids, like us, and gives us a home. After I got separated from you, I needed to hide somewhere, so I came here."

Indi closed her eyes, remembering the events of three years ago. "_He_ took us out of the orphanage…and you tried to hold onto me, but the guards were so much bigger than you…then _he_ put me into a cage and told me you were dead…but you weren't?"

"No. They put me into a little room, saying they'd be back to kill me, but I used my power and made the door get so old that it fell apart, and I escaped," said Chris. "I couldn't find you, though. I'm…I'm sorry, Indi."

"Don't be sorry. I'm okay now."

Chris looked at her black eye, broken arm, and numerous other injuries. "You're not okay," he said.

"I guess not, but I'm better!" said Indi, smiling brightly, then wincing as the motion hurt her eye.

Chris smiled and handed her the backpack. "Here," he said. "Remember when I used to fix toys for you? I'm better at it now. I found out that my power is to change the age of something. I can make any inanimate object age forwards until it deteriorates, or backwards until it's as good as new."

"Inamin…animan…inimate?"

"Inanimate. It means not living. I haven't figured out if I can use my power on living things yet…I'm not sure I want to know…" He frowned, then shook his head. "Anyway, I brought you some toys to play with while you're getting better."

Indi eagerly opened the backpack and pulled out the newly-fixed dolls, books, stuffed animals, and other things she hadn't seen since she was three. She looked back up at Chris. "Will you play with me?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, all right. Just don't tell anyone that I played with dolls. Deal?"

Indi nodded solemnly and handed him one of her toys.

When Nightcrawler came into the room a few minutes later, he found the teenage boy enthusiastically acting out a fairy tale, a doll in each hand. Indi was watching eagerly, giggling whenever Chris used a falsetto voice to say the heroine's lines. Nightcrawler waited until the story was finished to clear his throat and announce his presence.

"Good morning!" said Indi brightly.

Chris jumped and spun around. "Oh, um…" He glanced at the dolls in his hands and dropped them quickly. His ears were beet red. "I'll just be going now…"

"You'll come back?" asked Indi, staring at him with her wide blue eyes.

"Of course I will. I came back this morning, didn't I?"

"Promise?"

Her gaze was so intent and hopeful that Chris felt a fresh surge of anger towards her captors. How many promises had been made and broken by them? "Cross my heart," he said.

Once Chris had gone, Indi looked back at Nightcrawler, and smiled. "I'm feeling better today," she said proudly.

"That is good to hear," he said. He looked at the toys scattered across her bed. "Did Chris bring you all of these?"

Indi nodded. "He said he went around the school and asked people for old toys they didn't need anymore. What's a school?"

"It's a place where children go to learn new things."

"Will I learn new things?"

"Yes," said Nightcrawler. He picked her up out of bed gently, being careful not to hurt her ribs. "There's someone who would like to meet you now, Indi, alright?"

"Okay!" she said, happy to be with him again.

But when Nightcrawler took her out of the room, and into the long hallway, she started panicking. "No!" she sobbed, tightening her hold on his neck. "I want to stay here with you! I don't want to go back to my cage!"

Quickly he retreated back into the room and held her tightly. "It's alright, Indi. You're never going into a cage again. You're safe with me. Shh. It's alright."

Gradually she stopped crying, but still refused to loosen her grip on him. It was obvious that the hallways in the lower parts of the mansion were too much like those of the facility where she had been kept. There were probably many other things she would be afraid of as well, simply because they reminded her of that horrible place.

Reluctant to bring her out into the hall again, Nightcrawler asked her to trust him and to hold on very tightly. "I won't let anything happen to you," he said.

She sniffed and nodded. The next instant it was suddenly very hot, very dark and smelled like more sulfur than ever. And then it was over. Indi blinked. She was in another room entirely. There were many bookshelves lining the walls and a pretty rug covered the floor.

Then a man with a very kind voice spoke and she glanced around to see a man with no hair sitting behind a desk. "Hello, Indi."


End file.
